Jebs is busy writing postcards so I thought I’d be lazy and do one big one to you all - filling in a few gaps in what we have been up to so far …

You’ll be pleased to know vicars do go to church when on their hols - always feels a treat for Jebs & I to sit together. On Sundays so far we have worshipped at Anglican churches in Banff and Jasper, both worryingly small & elderly congregations but wonderfully friendly

Both times the Spirit was at work with fluorescent highlighter, making bits of the standard service leap out as often happens - so for example hymns I’ve sung a million times (and become bored by frankly) suddenly had words that were just spot on. In Banff this meant discovering Graham Kendrick had been reading my blog 30 years before I wrote it :

“As we gaze on your kingly brightness,
so our faces display your likeness,
ever changing from glory to glory,
mirrored here...

Jebs & I are having such fun discovering new places here in Canada, while also going back to revisit old spiritual roots - both are deeply refreshing

So I thought this time I’d give a flavour of both side by side - placing our visit to a famous (& snowy) lake resort alongside teaching about the pathway to holiness, drawn from another favourite personal mentor & spiritual guide

The visit to Lake Louise involved a climb up to a sister lake named Agnes, so I’ve christened the mountain ascent in between “Lady Florence” …

(on the road from Banff to Lake Louise …)

Florence Allshorn is an (unofficial) saint who has inspired me immensely over the last 25 years. Like many I first discovered her through going on annual prayer retreat to St. Julian’s Coolham, the community house she founded in the 1940s (now under new management as “St. Cuthman’s”)

Florence & St. Julian’s were a key part...

I love the unexpected connections beginning to crop up in this search for holiness, as it potentially ranges anywhere & everywhere across traditions, countries and centuries …

I pray as led by the Spirit, who blows and guides wherever he wills - and who is rather keen on surprises, when we’re brave enough to go with him

And certainly this post now feels to me like a daring & pretty unusual spiritual mash-up. I want to try tracing a living link between the kind of “happening” worship popular with some trendy 20 somethings, and the seemingly antique spirituality of John Vianney who we met last time.

Culturally they are poles apart. People who connect with one would normally take good care to avoid the other.

Yet I’m keen to celebrate a deep connection between them, whether explicitly expressed (for example in this song with lines about not being good enough, and rejoicing in a...

On day two in Banff we were keen to head back up into the mountains, to make the most of the pure, liquid sunshine that has so blessed our arrival (and especially as we hear rain & snow are on their way soon)

The day-hike Jebs and I followed is rated by Lonely Planet as the best in all Canada … and we agree that only ludicrous superlatives will do justice. For both of us this high alpine meadow was simply the most beautiful place we have been in our lives.

Remember the time when Moses asked the Lord “show me your glory”, and his request was granted in extraordinary fashion : “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock … and you will see my back” (Exodus 33 v.21-22)

Well this was a day something like that. We stood on a rock and the Glory of the Lord passed by.

I feel thrilled that my prayer for this part...

More about first encounters with the Rockies may be possible later.

But just wow.

So we made it! And first impressions touching down in Calgary are …

… it feels uncannily like arrival in Church! This is thanks to a wonderful (rather senior) voluntary welcome team at the airport, who position themselves all along our passenger route - with the purpose just of being there, to smile & say a lovely cheery good morning

Only real difference from St. Mary’s back home is their costume of red waistcoats & enormous white 10 gallon cowboy hats (but I could easily sort that with my churchwardens) …

Then at passport control we were further greeted by this mission statement emblazoned on the wall, in huge red letters over the Canadian flag :

“Bless … this flag, and grant that this banner of our nationhood may proudly fly over a people devoted to the pursuit of righteousness, justice and unity”

Hmmm, sounds familiar : a people devoted to the pursuit of righteousness

A...

I thought I’d pop this up purely for fun, as Jebs & I finally depart on our big adventure - don’t worry, it’s not that you’re failing to see some deep spiritual message encrypted in the lyrics!

After the short intro, I just love the playfulness & sheer joy they bring to a great little song :

With fondest love from two dearly departed travellers, who promise through these posts to haunt you faithfully while we’re gone

Next one will be from 4,500 miles away (& eight hours behind) … til then I recommend watching this in full screen so you get the breadth of this girl’s joyous grin - here’s hoping you find it every bit as infectious as I do!

Robert Murray M'Cheyne (1813 - 43) is renowned as a saintly Church of Scotland minister, who served at St. Peter’s Kilsyth in Dundee. He died tragically of typhus aged only 29, which he contracted through visiting sufferers during an epidemic raging in his parish.

We might naturally expect his biographer and great friend Andrew Bonar to indulge in a little rosy hagiography, in recounting a ministerial life struck down so very young.

Nonetheless M'Cheyne does seem to have been at the heart of a very well attested revival, which deepened the longing for holiness in his generation.

His life-story fits the bill concerning St. Paul’s scary advice to the Philippians (which I quoted in a recent post) : “Brethren, join in imitating me, and mark those who so live as you have an example in us”

I say “scary”, because this signifies that church leaders are actually meant to lead … & by...

I’m finding that one of the best things about writing a blog is how it opens up the wisdom of the community of friends reading it - thank you so much to all of you who have already passed me “leads” to follow from your own search for holiness

While we were at Lee Abbey it was great to be reminded (by Andy who lead the worship beautifully for us all week) of A W Tozer, whose writings I hadn’t returned to since student days

Tozer (1897 - 1963) was a pastor & author based in Chicago, who lived a simple lifestyle (wikipedia says he gave royalties from his 40 books to the poor, and only ever used public transport - pretty unusual I imagine, for a big name preacher in post war US)

Two of his works definitely on my reading list for the next few weeks are the classics “The Pursuit of God” (1948) and “The Knowledge of the Holy” (1961)

Following the Dylan song in my last post, here’s a...

“Pressing On” was always going to be a dead cert to accompany this sabbatical adventure at some point …. the only question being which version to go for?

Not everyone “gets” Dylan’s vocal style of course - but could I really countenance sacrificing his majestic original, which has been such an important personal anthem ever since its 80’s release?

In the end I have indeed swallowed hard, & gone for the recent Alicia Keys cover instead - which is almost as wonderful I think.

Especially if you haven’t come across it yet, may you & I find that this less familiar setting helps us pray the words all the more …

No text on the video this time I’m afraid, but as you listen here is the fabulous & seminal chunk of St. Paul that “his Bobness” had in mind :

Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss...